UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

GROUNDWATER RESOURCE ASSESSMENT IN ASTANEH-

KOUCHESFAHAN PLAIN, IRAN

MASOUD SAATSAZ

FPAS 2011 6

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GROUNDWATER RESOURCE ASSESSMENT IN ASTANEH-KOUCHESFAHAN PLAIN, IRAN

BY MASOUD SAATSAZ

Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

November 2011

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DEDICATION

To my wife and the best friend, Masiha Without her support, I could not have been the man I am today…

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Abstract of the thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

GROUNDWATER RESOURCE ASSESSMENT IN ASTANEH-KOUCHESFAHAN PLAIN, IRAN

By

MASOUD SAATSAZ

November 2011

Chairman: Associate Professor Wan Nor Azmin B Sulaiman, PhD

Faculty: Environmental Studies

Astaneh-Kouchesfahan Plain is one of the focus points in terms of regional

development in north of Iran. The socio-economic resources of the plain are

enormous and play a particularly important role in supporting the rural

population of the area. Partial use of groundwater potential, increase in

irrigation demand and groundwater contamination have caused the cultivable

lands not to be fully exploited and because of secondary salinity and erosion,

surface soils gradually are being converted to idle lands. This problem has

brought some difficulties for economical development of the area that has led

to decrease of family income, unemployment and finally immigration of rural

people. Most of these difficulties are due to mismanagement of water

resources caused by lack of reliable data. Hence, for overcoming these

difficulties, a detailed regional quantitative and qualitative assessment of

groundwater resources has been proposed and the results have been

analyzed based on standard methods. The base investigations were carried

out to develop hydrogeological and hydrochemical frameworks of the

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groundwater system. Based on available data, average annual water balance

has been evaluated for the whole region. Groundwater balance study

indicates that despite of water deficiency for domestic and agricultural

usages, discharge from groundwater is less than recharge to the region. The

results show that total recharge into the system is of the order of 342.89

million m3 (MCM), whereas the total discharge is of the order of 332.89 MCM,

leaving a surplus balance of +9.99 MCM. From the hydrochemical point of

view, the groundwater sources in the Astaneh-Kouchesfahan Plain have been

evaluated for their chemical composition and suitability for drinking and

irrigation uses. Comparison of geochemical results with World Health

Organization and United States Environmental Protection Agency standards

show that most groundwater samples except few are permissible for drinking

purposes and based on the Wilcox diagram, nearly all of the groundwater

samples are fit for irrigation use in almost all soil types. The groundwater in

the region was classified as hard, fresh to brackish, medium to high saline

and slightly alkaline in nature. The Piper plot illustrates that most of the

groundwater samples analyzed during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon

fall in the field of Ca-HCO3. In order to achieve a better understanding of the

nature of the factors influencing ground water composition, the correlation

studies and R-mode factor analysis were carried out on the various

groundwater parameters and the factor scores were transferred to areal

maps. The results of factor analysis show that factor 1 of the pre-monsoon

and factor 2 of the post-monsoon have high loading in the ions Na+ and Cl-,

reflecting that these ions are mainly derived from dissolution of secondary

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salts precipitated in the pore spaces and anthropogenic sources such as

agricultural activities and influx of municipal effluents.

After hydrochemical investigations, the groundwater vulnerability to pollution

was evaluated using GIS DRASTIC model and the obtained results showed

the areas with low, moderate, high and very high groundwater vulnerability

potential cover around 12, 52, 28 and 8% of study area, respectively. The

high and very high vulnerable zones mainly located in middle parts of the

plain and hence, groundwater resources beneath such areas need to be

monitored continuously so that protective measures can be established. In

this study, a 2-Dimentional groundwater flow model was also developed and

calibrated to simulate and predict hydraulic heads under steady-state and

transient conditions; to optimize hydrogeological coefficients values of

aquifer; as a prerequisite, to develop a contamination-transport model and

finally, to validate GIS DRASTIC model using model scenario testing. The

results of the transient calibration indicate that the horizontal hydraulic

conductivity values ranges from 1 to 23 m/day; and the specific yield of the

aquifer ranges between 0.03 and 0.25. After model verification and assurance

the reliability of the model results, the model prediction has been done for the

period from October 2009 to October 2012 and it has been predicted that

according to present recharge and discharge conditions, the average

weighted groundwater levels rise about 0.34 m. At the same period, the

predictive results of solute transport model show that according to present

flux conditions, groundwater salinities increased by approximately 2% over

the period and the average weighted chloride concentration increases from

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136.36 to 138.89 mg/L. However, if current conditions prevail, it is expected

that the groundwater consumers of the aquifer will be facing a worse situation

than the present condition.

Key Words: Aquifer Management, Aquifer Vulnerability, Astaneh-

Kouchesfahan Plain, DRASTIC, GIS, Groundwater Balance, Groundwater

Pollution, Groundwater Simulation, Hydrochemistry, Hydrogeology, Iran,

MT3D Model, , Numerical Modeling, PMWIN Model, Recharge, Water

Budget, Water Quality.

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Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada Senat Universiti Putra Malaysia sebagai memenuhi keperluan untuk ijazah Doktor Falsafah

PENILAIAN SUMBER AIR TANAH DI DATARAN ASTANEH-KOUCHESFAHAN, IRAN

Oleh

MASOUD SAATSAZ

November 2011

Pengerusi: Profesor Madya Wan Nor Azmin B Sulaiman, PhD

Fakulti: Pengajian Alam Sekitar

Dataran Astaneh-Kouchesfahan adalah salah satu titik fokus dalam hal

pembangunan daerah di utara Iran. Sumber sosio-ekonomi dataran sangat

besar dan memainkan peranan yang sangat penting dalam menyokong

penduduk luar bandar di daerah tersebut. Sebahagian penggunaan potensi

simpanan air tanah, peningkatan permintaan pengairan dan pencemaran air

tanah telah menyebabkan tanah pertanian tidak sepenuhnya dieksploitasi

dan kerana kemasinan dan hakisan sekunder, permukaan tanah secara

berperingkat bertukar kepada tanah terbiar. Masalah ini telah membawa

beberapa kesulitan untuk pembangunan ekonomi kawasan itu yang telah

menyebabkan penurunan pendapatan keluarga, pengangguran dan akhirnya

perpindahan masyarakat luar bandar. Sebahagian besar dari kesulitan-

kesulitan ini disebabkan oleh salah urus sumber air yang disebabkan oleh

kurangnya data yang boleh dipercayai. Oleh kerana itu, untuk mengatasi

kesulitan-kesulitan ini, penilaian kuantitatif dan kualitatif terperinci kawasan

sumber air tanah telah dicadangkan dan hasil telah dianalisis berdasarkan

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kaedah piawai. Penyelidikan asas dilakukan untuk membangunkan rangka

kerja hidrogeologi dan hidrokimia bagi sistem air tanah. Berdasarkan data

yang ada, purata keseimbangan air tahunan telah dinilai untuk seluruh

kawasan. Kajian keseimbangan air tanah menunjukkan bahawa walaupun

kekurangan air untuk kegunaan domestik dan pertanian, luahan air tanah

kurang daripada imbuhan ke kawasan tersebut. Keputusannya menunjukkan

bahawa jumlah imbuhan kepada sistem adalah 342.890 juta m3 (MCM),

sedangkan jumlah luahan ialah 332.89 MCM, meninggalkan baki lebihan

+9.99 MCM. Dari sudut hidrokimia, sumber air tanah di Dataran Astaneh-

Kouchesfahan telah dinilai untuk komposisi kimia dan kesesuaian untuk

kegunaan air minum dan pengairan. Perbandingan keputusan geokimia

dengan piawaian Pertubuhan Kesihatan Dunia dan Environmental Protection

Agency Amerika Syarikat menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan sampel air

tanah berada pada tahap yang dibenarkan untuk keperluan minum dan

berdasarkan rajah Wilcox, hampir semua sampel air tanah sesuai untuk

penggunaan pengairan di hampir semua jenis tanah. Air tanah di kawasan-

kawasan tersebut diklasifikasikan sebagai keras, segar ke payau, sederhana

ke tinggi masin dan sedikit semulajadi alkali. Plot rajah Piper

menggambarkan bahawa sebahagian besar sampel air tanah dianalisis

semasa musim sebelum monsun dan selepas monsun tergolong dalam Ca-

HCO3. Untuk mencapai pemahaman yang lebih baik tentang faktor-faktor

semulajadi yang mempengaruhi komposisi air tanah, kajian korelasi dan

analisis faktor R-mode dilakukan pada berbagai parameter air tanah dan skor

faktor tersebut dialihkan ke peta luas. Keputusan analisis faktor menunjukkan

faktor 1 dari sebelum monsun dan faktor 2 dari selepas monsun mempunyai

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beban ion Na+ dan Cl

- yang tinggi, mencerminkan bahawa ion-ion berasal

dari pelarutan garam sekunder terenap dalam ruang pori dan sumber

antropogen seperti kegiatan pertanian dan influks sampah kota.

Selepas siasatan hidrokimia, air tanah “mudah terdedah kepada

pencemaran” dinilai menggunakan model GIS DRASTIC dan

keputusan yang diperolehi menunjukkan kawasan dengan potensi air

tanah mudah terdedah tahap rendah, sederhana, tinggi dan sangat

tinggi masing-masing merangkumi sekitar 12, 52, 28 dan 8% dari

kawasan kajian. Zon mudah terdedah tinggi dan sangat tinggi terletak

di bahagian tengah dataran dan dengan itu, sumber air tanah di

bawah kawasan-kawasan tersebut perlu dipantau secara berterusan

supaya tindakan perlindungan dapat dibuat. Dalam kajian ini, model

aliran air tanah 2-Dimensi juga dibangunkan dan ditentukur untuk

mensimulasikan dan meramalkan turus hidraulik di bawah keadaan

mantap dan fana, untuk mengoptimumkan nilai pekali hidrogeologi

akuifer, sebagai prasyarat, untuk membangunkan model

pencemaran-pengangkutan dan akhirnya, untuk mengesahkan model

GIS DRASTIC menggunakan ujian senario model. Keputusan

tentukur fana menunjukkan bahawa nilai konduktiviti hidraulik

mendatar berjulat daripada 1 ke 23 m/hari, dan hasil tentu dari akuifer

berjulat antara 0.03 dan 0.25. Selepas pengesahan model dan

jaminan kebolehpercayaan keputusan model, model ramalan telah

dilakukan untuk tempoh dari Oktober 2009 hingga Oktober 2012 dan

telah menganggarkan bahawa mengikut keadaan imbuhan dan

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luahan pada masa ini, aras purata air tanah meningkat sekitar 0.34

m. Pada tempoh yang sama, hasil ramalan dari model pengangkutan

bahan larut menunjukkan bahawa mengikut keadaan fluks sekarang,

kemasinan air tanah meningkat sekitar 2% selama tempoh itu dan

purata kepekatan klorida meningkat daripada 136.36 kepada 138.89

mg/L. Namun, jika keadaan semasa ini berlaku, dijangka pengguna

air tanah akuifer tersebut akan menghadapi situasi yang lebih buruk

daripada keadaan sekarang ini.

Kata kunci: Pengurusan Akuifer, Kerentanan Akuifer, Dataran Astaneh-

Kouchesfahan, DRASTIC, GIS, Keseimbangan Air Tanah, Pencemaran Air

Tanah, Simulasi Air Tanah, Hidrokimia, Hidrogeologi, Iran, Model MT3D,

Permodelan Berangka, Model PMWIN, Imbuhan, Anggaran Air, Kualiti Air.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank, first and foremost, Allah Almighty and God's

Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) for the opportunity to take on

this challenge. Thank you for providing me strength, talents, tools and special

people that aided me in the completion of this task.

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Dr. Wan

Nor Azmin Bin Suliman for his assistance, guidance and encouragement

through this study. Thank you for the long hours that you dedicated to this

script, for helping me to achieve my best. Your support is greatly respected.

I would also like to thank to my advisory committee; Dr. Koroush

Mohammadi and Dr. Shaharin Ibrahim for being very supportive and helpful

during the work process of this thesis. And I wish to extend my special thanks

Dr. Saman Javadi his guidance, support, and many ideas.

Finally, I wish to express my great appreciation to the love of my life,

Masiha. I remember very clearly the day I started my work with you, and how

excited you were about it. Masiha: I am so thankful for your love and support

over the years. Without you I would not have been able to complete the work

that I undertook.

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I certify that an Examination Committee has met on 23 November 2011 to conduct the final examination of Masoud Saatsaz on his thesis entitled “Groundwater Resource Assessment in Astaneh-Kouchesfahan Plain, Iran” in accordance with Universities and University College Act 1971 and the Constitution of the Universiti Putra Malaysia [P.U.(A) 106] 15 March 1998.The committee recommends that the student be awarded the Doctor of Philosophy. Members of the Thesis Examination Committee were as follows:

Nor Rasidah binti Hashim, PhD Senior lecturer Faculty of Environmental Studies University Putra Malaysia (Chairperson) Mohammad Firuz bin Ramli, PhD Associated Professor Faculty of Environmental Studies University Putra Malaysia (Internal Examiner) Ahmad Zaharin bin Aris, PhD Senior lecturer Faculty of Environmental Studies University Putra Malaysia (Internal Examiner) Kyoung-Woong Kim, PhD Professor Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea (External Examiner)

SEOW HENG FONG, PhD Professor and Deputy Dean

School of Graduate Studies Universiti Putra Malaysia

Date: 25 January 2012

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This thesis was submitted to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia and has been accepted as fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The members of the Supervisory Committee were as follows:

Wan Nor Azmin B Sulaiman, PhD Associate Professor Faculty of Environmental Studies University Putra Malaysia (Chairman) Shaharin Ibrahim, PhD Associate Professor Faculty of Environmental Studies University Putra Malaysia (Member) Koroush Mohammadi, PhD Associate Professor Tarbiat Moddaress University Tehran, I.R.Iran (Member)

BUJANG BIN KIM HUAT, PHD

Professor and Dean School of Graduate Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Date:

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DECLARATION

I declare that the thesis is my original work except for quotations and citations, which have been duly acknowledged. I also declare that it has not been previously, and is not concurrently, submitted for any other degree at Universiti Putra Malaysia or at any other institutions.

MASOUD SAATSAZ

Date: 23 November 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

DEDICATION ii ABSTRACT iii ABSTRAK vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT xi APPROVAL SHEETS xii DECLARATION FORM xiv LIST OF TABLES xviii LIST OF FIGURES xx LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxvi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. General 1

1.2. Statement of Research Problem 6 1.3. Research Objectives 9 1.4. Limitation of the Study 10

1.5. Contents of Thesis 12 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 13 2.1. Groundwater Basics 13

2.1.1. Hydrologic Cycle 15 2.1.2. Aquifer 16

2.1.2.1. Aquifer Properties 18 2.2. Groundwater Balance 19

2.2.1. Recharge Estimation 20 2.2.1.1. Water Table Fluctuation Method 21

2.3. Groundwater Quality 24

2.3.1. Factor Analysis Studies 29 2.4. Groundwater Vulnerability to Pollution 31

2.4.1. DRASTIC Method 32 2.5. Groundwater Modeling 39

2.5.1. Overview of Groundwater Models 41

2.5.2. Groundwater Model Development Process 50

2.6. Solute Transport Modeling 51 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA 55 3.1. Location and Accessibility 55

3.2. Climate 56 3.3. Topography 61

3.4. Geomorphology 62 3.5. Geology 65

3.5.1. Structural Geology 70 3.5.2. Geophysical Survey 74

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3.5.3. Well Log Analysis 77 3.6. Hydrogeology 82

3.6.1. Hydrogeological Coefficients Estimation 85 3.6.2. Groundwater Level Fluctuations Study 87

3.7. Summery 94 4 WATER BALANCE STUDIES 95

4.1. Introduction 95 4.2. Recharge Estimation 96 4.3. Rainfall Recharge Estimation 100 4.4. Field Irrigation Recharge Estimation 101

4.5. Sewage Infiltration Estimation 102

4.6. Evapotranspiration Estimation 102 4.7. Draft Estimation 104

4.8. Subsurface Inflow and Outflow Estimation 106 4.9. Influent and Effluent Seepage Estimation 110 4.10. Conclusion 115

5 GROUNDWATER QUALITY STUDIES 118

5.1. Introduction 118 5.2. Chemical Analysis 121

5.2.1. pH 121 5.2.2. TDS 123 5.2.3. EC 125 5.2.4. Sodium Adsorption Ratio 126 5.2.5. Sodium Percentage 128 5.2.6. Total Hardness 128 5.2.7. Ion Concentrations 129

5.3. Cluster Analysis Studies 142 5.4. Hydrochemical Facies 145

5.5. Correlation Studies 148

5.6. Factor Analysis Studies 152 5.7. Saline Water Intrusion Potential 160 5.8. Summery 163

6 GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT STUDIES 165

6.1. Introduction 165

6.2. Preparation of the Parameter Maps 166 6.2.1. Depth to Water (D) 166 6.2.2. Net Recharge (R) 167 6.2.3. Aquifer Media (A) 168 6.2.4. Soil Media (S) 169 6.2.5. Topography (T) 170 6.2.6. Impact of Vadose Zone (I) 171 6.2.7. Hydraulic Conductivity (C) 171

6.3. DRASTIC Vulnerability Map 173 6.4. Model Validation 174 6.5. Summery 176

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7 GROUNDWATER FLOW MODELING STUDIES 178 7.1. Introduction 178

7.2. Groundwater Model Development Process 178 7.2.1. Define the Purpose 179 7.2.2. Conceptual Model 180 7.2.3. Computer Code Selection 181 7.2.4. Model Design 182 7.2.5. Model Calibration 184

7.2.5.1. Steady-State Calibration 185 7.2.5.2. Transient Calibration 187

7.6. Model Verification 198 7.7. Model Prediction 198

7.3. Summery 201 8 SOLUTE TRANSPORT MODELING STUDIES 210

8.1. Introduction 210 8.2. Computer Code Selection 210 8.3. Modeling Approach 211 8.4. Model Verification 215 8.5. Model Prediction 219 8.6. Summery 224

9 SUMMERY AND CONCLUSIONS 225 REFERENCES /BIBILIOGRAPHY 232 APPENDICES 247 BIODATA OF STUDENT 314